


*Slaps Connor affectionately* Fuck em up kid

by Floofy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) is Bad at Feelings, Dad Hank, Depression, Father-Son Relationship, Flashbacks, Good Dog Sumo (Detroit: Become Human), Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Hank Anderson Swears, Hugging, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mental Health Issues, Original Character(s), Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Parent Hank Anderson, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Pre-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Connor, Worried Hank Anderson, hank centric, is always good, its during before AND after so y'know..., mainly cuz i wanna explore this mans anxiety and depression and relationship with his new son, should probably include those heavy tags huh, there are now 2 (two) oc's/background characters, theyre not gonna be super important and just work in the grocery store but, theyre there and give hank a lil bit of time to just Be around other poeple, yeah hanks got em all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-10 08:27:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15287670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floofy/pseuds/Floofy
Summary: During the android uprising; Hank Anderson goes through the whole ordeal of helping Connor with freeing the androids and is then forced to return home to worry his ass off. When news finally gets back to him that the stupid kid is ok he finds himself alone with only Sumo and his anxieties for company until humanity starts trickling back into Detroit.----“Promise me. Promise me you will go home and be safe, Lieutenant.”With his hand that’s still not in his other pocket he slaps the side of Connor’s face teasingly a few times with a tired smirk.“Alright son, alright...if that’s what you really want..."





	1. During the rebellion and Hanks freaking out a lil bit...

**Author's Note:**

> (Title is currently a place holder but i honestly have no idea what to call this so who knows it might stay that, its def grown on me and makes me giggle) The first chapter is the only one that is gonna have flashbacks aka just (1) one flashback to what i kind of wanted to see in game: Once Connor and Hank free the androids you never actually see what happens to Hank, which im guessing is he just goes home but i really wanted to SEE it, so there we go...
> 
> I dont plan on this being long, maybe 2 or 3 chapters since i only have 3 main ideas with chapter 1 being the first idea, but second chapter will focus on Hank solely and him dealing with the aftermath of not having connor around and also detroit being barren as Fuck whilst the situation is still sorted out so :)L he's gonna be riddled with anxiety and shit until he pushes himseelf to get the fuck out of the house. I would say this is kinda self projecting but its canon hank has depression and thinks about suicide regularly so im sure than mans suffering from anxiety also rip sorry if this was long just wanted to get my main thoughts out of the way   
> OK  
> onto suffering

When the military had finally been ordered to cease fire upon the remaining deviants in Markus’ small group and been interrupted by the thousands more being brought in from behind lead by an unknown second party; there was a collective sigh of relief amongst them all. Both humans and androids could now rest easy knowing that the shooting had finally stopped and that no more therium would be spilled that day, even those not open to the cause would be filled with relief knowing that Detroit wouldn’t become any more of a death pit than it had already become, because even with Markus’ peaceful protesting; thousands of lives had been lost that day and on many days beforehand.

 

In all of his selfish honesty; Lieutenant Hank Anderson only really cared that the previously “deviant hunter” Connor was OK. Watching the live feed on the television from the edge of his couch cushion had been panic inducing, so much so he’d taken to petting his dog Sumo rhythmically just to ease his nerves, all tension rising to his shoulders upon watching the action unfold, only dropping once the camera zoomed in to show Connor leading the pack of recently deviated androids behind him towards Markus’ position; determined but unharmed.

 

The broadcaster had started talking again about the sudden pack of androids arriving to the scene but Hank tuned it out, letting himself sigh in relief before falling back into his couch cushions. Upon falling back his hand left Sumos furry head only to land on his own as he swiped a few loose strands of hair off of his forehead, following it up by slinging the arm over his closed eyes with a huff. A scene from not even an hour earlier played behind closed lids and Hank found himself reliving the moments before Connor had hesitantly left him at Cyberlife to lead the androids to Markus’ aid.

 

\----

 

The guards hadn’t even tried to stop them from raising the androids up the elevators to the exit of the Cyberlife building; even with their guns they would have been outnumbered and there wouldn't have been enough bullets to topple even one third of the deviants. Hank had made sure nobody would get hurt, even going so far as to shield Connor from the newly positioned guards at the entrance to the elevator on the main floor with his gun drawn and a frown tugging at his mouth.

 

“Don’t do anything stupid now,” he’d started, twitching the pistol in his hand off to the side as a way to indicate the direction the guards should move in. “We outnumber the lot of you, and I don’t think we want to ruin any more of the floor than we already have, yeah?” 

 

Hesitantly the guards had lowered their guns and moved out of the way of the elevator, not even wanting to test the human and his pack of androids. They’d all filtered out the the elevator, about 10 of them including Hank and Connor and started off towards the entrance doorway. Whilst they left; more and more androids made their way up of of elevators on other sides of the room, some had been directed to take turns taking the elevators up whilst others went to the stairways so it would be faster to get them all out in time to help Markus with whatever he needed. There was a damn lot of them and Connor pressured they needed as many of them as possible to turn the fight in their favor.

 

Getting all the androids outside hadn’t taken as long as expected but the tension in the air was palpable amongst the crowd; mutterings of ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘What are we doing?’s filled the air as Connor pulled Hank away from the crowd and over to where he’d spotted the Lieutenants car so they could talk in private before heading out.   
The steely determination in Connor’s eyes was a new, but good look for the kid and Hank couldn’t help but find himself smirking, clasping the androids shoulder in a clap before giving him a slight shake.

 

“You did good kid! I’m glad you found a way to get back at these bastards. Sneaking into one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the world and stealing a few thousand androids wasn’t the smartest idea but lord knows both Cyberlife and the rest of humanity deserves it.”

 

There’s a small grimace that flits over the RK800’s face before it’s replaced with a smile. He HAD been shot after all and Hank, unbeknown to him, just jostled the wound...but the bullet had passed straight through Connors shoulder and there were more important things to deal with right now so he’d just have to deal with the hole in his shoulder at a more opportune time when the literal fate of deviant survival wasn’t resting all on the next few moments. The thought made him feel slightly uneasy, definitely a strange new feeling, but the weight of Hanks hand still on his shoulder helped him push through it all, a strong nod at the Lieutenant all he needed for the determination to come flowing right back through his robotic viens.

 

“Thank you Hank, but you were a big part of this as well, don’t forget that.” With another nod Connor steps out of the hold on his arm, turning slightly towards the crowd of androids still awaiting instructions. His next sentence comes out with a bit of a chuckle, the reality of the situation surprising himself even after it’s already happened. “Without you I don’t think I’d be where I am right this instant, especially not about to lead a few thousand deviated androids through the streets of Detroit…”

 

With a scoff, Hank ruffles his hand through Connors hair; destroying any sense of formality the style held previously. The android swats his hand away in slight embarrassment but the action makes them both smile. Hanks other hand makes it into his jacket pocket to fiddle with the car keys inside; a gentle reminder that Connor and him really should be making their way down to Markus and the rest of Jericho asap.

 

“Speaking of…” Hank cuts himself off with a slight nod to the crowd beside them. “We really should get going, kid, don’t wanna keep Markus any more than we have already…”

 

“You’re right, but…” There’s a pause as Connor looks away from Hank for a second. “Promise me you will leave the rest to me and go back home and stay there until all of this blows over? I have no idea of what will happen once I turn up with these androids and it would help me feel better if I know you’re somewhere safe…” 

Connor turns away fully at the end of this request to face the crowd, he isn’t yet ready to call out to all of them to relay the plan because he’s waiting on Hanks response but….he very obviously doesn't want to actually be looking at Hank’s face to see his reaction.   
Of course his response isn’t anything but upset.

 

“Leave you? At a time like this?! Kid-” There’s an exasperated sigh. “You have got to be fucking kidding me right now!”

 

But Connor isn’t. He knows that Hank could handle himself if anything went wrong or if stuff got out of hand, of course he does- but...even if there’s just a slim chance of something going wrong, Connor wouldn't be able to deal with himself if he knew there was that chance of something bad happening to Hank and he just let it happen anyway. Neither of them would admit it just yet but they already cared deeply for the each other; ever since Connor had started showing signs of deviancy and Hank had called Connor “son” there had been a mutual bond forming that Connor couldn’t let anything interfere with, it was too important.

 

Connor turning to the androids had left Hank with a clear view of the his LED as it flickered constantly between yellow and red; showing his clear discomfort at the situation. The Lieutenant and android had spent enough time around each other by now to recognise emotions the other was feeling even if they were slight or barely there at all but to see the little LED going haywire at his discomfort still made the Lieutenant frown.

 

“Seriously Connor! You  _ know _ i can look out for myself! We’ve gone through all this shit together so far that i’m not just gonna let you-”

 

But Hank doesn’t get to finish, the steely determination in the RK800’s eyes returns with full force as he whips his head around to stare Hank down, his gaze piercing; just daring the older man to fight him any longer.

 

“ _ Promise me. Promise me you will go home and be safe, Lieutenant.” _

 

Said Lieutenant doesn’t miss the change in name. He could try and pull the superior officer card but Connor never listened to him even before he deviated so there’s no way in hell that he’s going to listen to him now. With a sigh, Hank drops his shoulders, all tension gone as he gives in. He can obviously see that even just the idea of him getting hurt is incredibly upsetting for Connor right now so with his hand that’s still not in his other pocket he slaps the side of Connor’s face teasingly a few times with a tired smirk.

 

“Alright son, alright...if that’s what you really want...then I’ll let you do the rest alone. But in return you have to promise  _ me _ that you won’t get hurt either, ok?”

 

The answer seems to comfort the android somewhat and he gives a curt nod.

 

“Now, go show those fucks you’re not gonna give up so easily.”

 

Connor takes a second to laugh and send Hank a genuinely appreciative smile before starting to walk off towards the front of the crowd.

 

“Tell Sumo I miss him!” Is the last thing Connor shouts over his shoulder before stopping in front of the large crowd of recently deviated androids. 

 

It’s enough to get a small sad chuff out of the Lieutenant in return before he’s turning around and fishing his keys out of his pocket to unlock the car door. Witch a quick tug the door opens and he ducks inside to sit down, quickly shutting the door behind him and turning the keys into the engine to start it up. 

 

\----

 

Hank remembers trying to be as fast as possible with his actions so he could drive the car out of the way of the crowd slowing forming together behind him; the androids all hearing the plan from Connor and getting into position to start the march.

It didn’t take him long before he’d started speeding down the road and through the Cyberlife gate with home in mind, a trail of androids in his wake with Connor at the forefront leading them to victory.

 

With a blink, the now suddenly tired Lieutenant removes his arm from his eyes, the events form not too long ago feeling like they had happened years ago to his frazzled mind. Whilst knowing that Connor was okay was a huge relief he still felt….anxious. There was no knowing what would happen next even as the cameras kept rolling to keep viewers up to date on the situation at hand at the plaza. He allowed himself to sit upright and stretch, catching the attention of Sumo as the dog still sat patiently at his feet. 

 

“At least i’ve still got you here with me, boy…” Hank finds himself muttering; pushing himself forward just enough to continue petting Sumo from where he’d last left off. The St.Bernard sniffs up at the hand coming towards him quickly before happily accepting the pats generously given to him over his fluffy forehead and ears.

 

Looking back up at the TV shows Hank that the news is no longer live and a sudden spike in anxiety in his chest at not knowing what’s going on causes him to grip at Sumo accidentally, but he forces himself to take a deep breath and releases the hard grip just as fast as he’d started it, not wanting to hurt the poor dog in any way. God, anxiety was so much easier to ignore when he was intoxicated or sleep deprived, but he was neither of those right now and if he remembered correctly; Connor had thrown out all of his booze whilst they’d still been working on the deviant cases together, so until he went out shopping again he’d have to deal with the small spikes in another way. 

Currently, petting Sumo was helping him with that but usually the dog was just a back-up. Since he couldn’t bother Sumo constantly and the dog needed to sleep and have his own space; constantly petting him and keeping him awake just because Hank was feeling a bit anxious was a pretty selfish idea....wouldn’t have been the first selfish thought of the hour though, but the thought “you deserve only wanting to worry about one kid, if you worried about more than one kid you’d be dead by now old man” popped into his head and at that he let him have his one selfish thought for the day.

 

It doesn’t help that he’s still pretty fucking anxious as it rolls around to 12pm and Sumo has started getting restless at his feet. With a huff he lets Sumo go and watches as the fluffy terror trots into the kitchen to lap at the water bowl and thinks to himself maybe he should also do that. Thinking back on the previous events of the day reminds him he doesn’t actually know when the last time he ate or drank was which is admittedly and honestly not the first time. 

He’d been called to the Cyberlife tower by fake Connor a few hours ago and it had taken a while for the real Connor to show up anyway, then there’d been the fight and Hank shooting fake Connor, converting all the androids, getting them all out, the talk with Connor before he left-

 

His stomach rumbles.

 

Yeah he should definitely eat something.

 

\----

 

It takes Hank longer than he’d like to admit to make something to eat throughout the kitchen, the place is a mess and it takes him awhile just to find a clean plate let alone something edible to put on said plate; but in the meantime he’d taken to filling up Sumo’s bowl instead, so at least one of them was happy. From the counter he watches the dog happily chow down on the mixed food, pushing hair out of his eyes to watch better before remember he has a hair tie laying around somewhere and starting to rummage through the drawers for it. With a successful “aha!” he pulls the tie out from underneath some bandages and pulls his hair back out of his face and into a small bun at the nape of his neck, a long piece of his fringe instantly falls back over to frame the side of his face but he ignores it, instead going about to again try and find something edible.

 

God he needs to go shopping.

 

In the end the Lieutenant ends up making a sandwich with cheese and chicken in it, the small pieces of chicken had been in a packet that was thrown to the back of the fridge and was almost at its use by date, but only using as much as he needed he ended up giving Sumo the rest of it, which the dog happily chowed down on. One of the perks of owning an animal was that they’d eat any leftovers you wouldn’t, cons was that if Hank left the takeout leftovers on the living room table they’d definitely be gone the next day if he passed out on the couch.

 

Chewing slowly on the sandwich, he’s taken to sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water thats he’s sipping every so often. Looking up at the muted TV he squints to read the headline from so far away, he reminds himself he does in fact have a pair of glasses somewhere but isn’t quite sure where so he just gives up on the TV for now and concentrates on the snack. 

 

It’s definitely a lot quieter now, no cars driving by at fuck you o’clock in the morning, no noisy neighbours to keep you up at night, no voices of strangers drifting through the walls of the house whilst walking through the neighbourhood....it’s both a blessing and a curse to have the city of Detroit be so quiet and yet so chaotic at the same time, because on one hand; androids weren’t in any danger anymore from the military, but on the other hand without the military threat; humans would start to trickle back into Detroit from where ever they had fled too and  _ that _ meant that the androids could be in danger again. It was a sticky situation that would have to be tread on carefully if androids hoped to make the history books and be able to survive afterwards. 

 

Hank found himself easily able to think about volunteering to kick some fuckers teeth in if they tried to attack an android on the street especially after he’d been part of helping the androids win alongside Connor. Oh how your opinions could change so easily if you just found someone to care for…

 

With a sleepy slow blink he stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and chewed in thought. Upon coming home earlier the first thing he’d done was check his phone for any kind of missed calls or texts and then jump straight to the sofa to catch the news. Whilst his phone hadn’t shown him what he’d wanted, he supposed he got something he needed. Captain Fowler had sent out a mass text to all of those in the DPD alerting them that the station would be closed until officers returned from the initial shock and evacuation of Detroit after the uprising scare. Originally Hank had scoffed at the thought, the fact that even police officers had fled the city was idiotic and selfish of them; the least they could have done was to stick around to help the evacuation but no....they had been some of the first to run. It hadn’t helped the DPD that almost half of the staff had also been androids, easily deviating upon hearing of the upcoming uprising and using their police training and coding to be those to protect and shield their fellow deviated people. 

 

Whilst Hank was glad for those deviating, the Lieutenant part of him couldn’t help but feel upset that he wouldn’t be able to go into work to take his mind off of things. Over the time he’d spent with Connor on the deviant cases he had honestly regained that spark that had made him so interested in police work when he was younger; the ability to use your skills in persuasion and deduction to weasel answers out of those in custody; to follow clues and search the crime scene until you came to a synopsis, and even though most of the times after Connor found them the deviants would self destruct in some way; finding and apprehending the criminal had always been a highlight of a job well done.

But then again...Hank could also understand why those even as a part of the Police force would evacuate during a scare such as this; they had families and children to look out for. If the military became involved in any kind of way it became incredibly dangerous for everyone around the area, no matter their status or job. Taking a sip from his glass of water the old Lieutenant found himself wiping at his tired eyes, wiping the wetness away on his trousers and deciding to down what was left of his water in one last swig. Standing up to put the glass and plate in the sink for washing later he ended up finding himself a lot more tired than he initially thought he would be.

 

“TV, off.” Hank grumbled with a scratch to his bearded cheek.

 

The television obayed the command, turning off completely and leaving the room in darkness since Hank hadn’t even bothered to turn on any lights upon rushing in earlier. It didn’t bother him in the slightest as he groggily made his way around the kitchen table towards where he knew his bedroom door was, only banding his hip on the corner of a singular chair before making his way past with (thankfully) no serious injuries. The older mans movements were slow as he took off his trousers and collared shirt before flopping onto bed in the t-shirt and boxers he’d been wearing all day. Sumo happily followed in after him with his tongue hung low which elicited a small chuckle from his human owner.

 

Softly, Hank pat the bed next to him and cooed at the dog, already half asleep on top of the covers.

 

“Hey boy, c’mon up, beds nice’n warmm…”

 

Following the command happily, Sumo made a short jump up onto the mattress before plopping down in front of Hanks nearly conked out form; licking at the hand that had previously pat the bed as a form of invitation. At the lick the St.bernard earned a few pats the the leg in return and then Hank was out like a light.

 

The sandwich had been so intriguing earlier that he hadn’t even thought about the anxieties he’d had previously at all throughout the entire rest of the evening.

 

Sandwiches: 1

Anxieties: 0


	2. More Anxiety- but heeeey! What do you know! Theres a shop open and It's grocery time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up to the start of a new day brings new anxieties along with it even with the help of doggy love.  
> The threat of empty kitchen cupboards forces Hank out into the city to find a place to buy food lest he stay stuck at home and starve himself, but he's no good to Connor starving so who knows? Maybe he'll be able to find an open buisness out there somewhere despite the abandoned state of Detroit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so AO3 was an ass and deleted my entire first go at trying to update this which was a huge pain since i'd edited the story in the AO3 text box and didnt save that version MEANING i had to re-edit the entire 6000 words and sorry if i missed any errors or whatever but im NOT gonna go through this a third time cuz im as tired as Hank right now UGH ANYWAY  
> this is a lot longer than my first chapter cuz i actually had this entire chapture pre day dreamed in my head lmao originally i was gonna write it even longer but i felt like where i cut it off was a good place since if i wrote it any longer i think i'd be pushing it and then not have a good enough place to cut it off idk man

 

Upon waking up the next morning the first thing Hank felt was a wetness on his face. It was mainly on his forehead but the bed underneath him felt weird as well. With a grunt he moved his hand to wipe at the weird feeling only to end up smacking into something soft instead. The object confused his already muddled mind and he poked it earning a huff of air to his wet face.

 

“The fuck-?”

 

A loud bark broke the silence. Hanks eyes popped open, the loud noise causing him to almost jump out of the covers and he let out a deep breath. Oh, it was just Sumo. With a little bit of effort Hank managed to squirm out of Sumos face and flipped over onto his back, scrubbing at the wet patch on his forehead in slight disgust and then wiping his hands on the bed covers. Sumo responded by wiggling forward on his stomach and poking his owner in the forearm with his wet snout before continuing to lick him.

 

With a chuckle Hank tried pushing against Sumos snout only to have the dog switch to licking his palm. Relenting; the Lieutenant let his dog have his fun and sat back watching as the dog gave his hand a good wash. A few seconds later Sumo was finished and inched forward again with a small ‘boof’.

 

“Thanks, pup.” Hank teased, sitting up and giving the dog a quick scratch on the head with his non wet hand. “Oh yeah I almost forgot. Connor says his misses you, thought you’d like to know that.” Of which Sumo just tilts his head at the name and inches forward once again with a little shake of his hind legs, finishing off the movement with a playful huff.

 

Hank can’t help his genuine smile at the movements. No matter how old or fat Sumo got; in Hanks eyes he was always that adorable puppy he had bought so many years ago. He ends up scruffing up the fur around Sumos muzzle and poking him on the nose before pushing the hot bed covers off of his legs with his toes. Moving around the bed Hank ends up giving Sumo enough time to hop off and follow him into the bathroom whilst he washes his hand and forearm of all the dog slobber.

 

Next, he cups his hands under the tap to splash water over his face, squinting at his reflection in the mirror for a second before swiping up a towel and patting his face dry. The squinty glare he receives from himself in the mirror feels almost natural at this point but he makes a point of flicking his gaze away to the little post its tacked on to the edges of the glass and on the wall. Taking a few more seconds to wipe his eyes and the piece of fringe that had fallen lose last night; he reads over the notes idly.

 

‘Keep Smiling :)’

  
‘Today will be Fabulous!’

  
‘SHAVING OR NOT’

 

The last note catches his attention and he turns his head in the mirror towards the ragged, loose bun he’d put his hair up in the previous night as well as down at his beard. He pushes his fingers through the scruff over his chin then up over his head to try and fix the horrible bed hair he’d no doubt gotten from tossing and turning in his sleep. The towel is dropped to the counter as his old hands roam over the grayed locks, with a tug the hair tie comes loose and he lets the mess drop back down over his neck, he fluffs it out for a few seconds before gathering it all at the back again. This time he lets it sit in a loose ponytail, once again, a piece of his fringe falls out immediately to frame the side of his face. He doesn’t care too much about it, but the thought of trimming his hair crosses his mind.

 

Hank doesn't bother with deodorant or a shower, instead returning to his bedroom to practically throw his “pajamas” into the pile of dirty clothes accumulating on the floor. Sumo follows him back through the hall, making his naked owner jump with a lick to the back of the thigh and Hank finds himself chuckling; giving the dog a small flick on the nose. Sumo instantly gets back at him by laying down on a pile of his clothes.

 

A laugh breaks its way out of his mouth and the Lieutenant shakes his head, those clothes are going to stink for agees. Following the head bob movement like his owner, Sumo shuffles forward on the pile of clothes, getting comfortable before laying his head down on his paw. Opening the drawers to pull out necessary clothing pieces such as socks, boxers and a tee shirt; Hank sits on the bed to slip them all on easily before returning to the cupboards and pulling out a random shirt and jeans. After putting them on also he’s finally ready to move onto his next objective:

 

See if there’s anything edible in the fucking kitchen.

 

This time before entering the kitchen; Hank turns on the light so he doesn’t walk into the wooden chairs like he did last night. He inspects his shelves and fridge longer than he had the previous night to take stock of what he has and hasn’t got and makes a mental note of items as he goes. After he’s done looking and cant find anything he fancies its Sumos turn to eat, grabbing a can off of the stack on the shelf he opens it up and empties it out into the dogs bowl; watching for a second as the dog happily inhales the food presented to him so graciously.

 

Foregoing breakfast Hank hunts around for his keys and wallet. He finds them on the living room coffee table and snatches them up before sauntering around the furniture towards the front door so he can grab a jacket. With a final “Behave yourself while I’m gone Sumo!” he exists out the front door and locks it behind him; stepping out into the brisk winter air.

 

Wind rushes past and makes him pause as an involuntary shiver courses through him, in response he pulls his jacket tighter around him with a frown. The snow is still falling around Detroit and has been piling up over the past few days to be a few centimeters thick. There’s almost a calmness in the air with how quiet it is around the neighbourhood, the way the flakes manage to fall to the pavement despite everything that’s happened in the last few days could be seen as a positive omen; that life will carry on despite all the hardships both human and androids have gone through recently, but the image doesn’t calm Hank as much as he wished it did.

He can feel the pangs of anxiety threatening to rise up in his chest as he thinks of how many androids had been hurt or died and how Connor had been at the forefront leading the deviated Cyberlife androids; straight to the armed military. He thinks about how _easily_ the military could have just opened fire; ignoring the way they marched peacefully- ignoring how those of Jericho worked so hard together just to save one another- how _Connor_ could have _died_ -

 

He forces himself to take a deep breath. He knows they’re fine- _he knows Connors_ _fine_ ; Hank saw him on the news; heard of how the military had stood down on the word of Madame President and that the leader of Jericho had overcome and survived the attacks against him and his people-

 

But that cauldn't stop him from worrying.

 

Noticing he’s slowly freezing on the spot he hurries over to his car and gets in, happy to be back in the warmth but still feeling the race of his heart in his chest from the sudden buzz of anxiety and god he really hopes it doesn’t get any worse. Taking a few more moments to calm himself he starts to wonder ‘ _when the hell have I become so worried about all the androids, let alone Connor?’_ he knew the kid was capable and had shown time and time again how easily he could defend himself so _why the fuck was he so goddamned worried about him?_

 

He supposes that’s what he deserves for spending so much time with him and letting the goddamned kid into his heart so easily. Hank curses under his breath thinking back on how many times he’s called the android ‘kid’ or ‘son’, mainly curses himself for being so soft and trusting, but most of all; curses himself for not being with the kid right now. Whilst he knows Connors safe he doesn’t know if he’s alone in Jericho or if he feels welcome there and that’s the real kicker, because even though Connors skilled in hand to hand combat; he’s not the best at emotions.

 

He also realises that when he’s not thinking about what he’s doing and is being openly honest it’s really damn embarrassing. He’s 53 god damnit he shouldn’t be so damn soft. And yet he is...he supposes that’s what happens after being a father….

 

Right....

 

He’s a father-

 

Was!

 

...

 

_Is?_

 

...

 

_He really doesn’t know anymore._

 

All he knows right now is that he’s been sat in his car in his driveway for way too long and by now should have already been on the way to get some groceries, so that’s what he ends up focusing on. As if on auto pilot he inserts the keys in to turn on the engine and pulls out of the driveway, only snapping out of his trance when he drives over a bump in the road. He really shouldn’t do that; it’s super dangerous. So to stop himself from dissociating once more he flicks on his heavy metal.

 

Yeah that’s more like it.

 

\----

 

Just like yesterday, the city streets and roads of Detroit are completely empty and void of any kind of life. Occasionally Hank sees an android loitering around but as soon as they notice his car they skitter away down the pavement or hide behind a building in fear. It’s understandable of course, the androids had already been put through so much hell in such a small matter of hours that any kind of contact with humans would still be pretty shaky at best, he’d help out if he could but doesn’t want to cause any more harm than good, so he leaves them be. Finding an open store is on top of his to-do list right now anyway and he doesn’t really have the time nor energy to help every single stray deviant he finds.

 

When he’d finally calmed down after the onslaught of anxieties from earlier he’d found himself tired once again, the racing thoughts and flutter in his chest taking all the strength he’d regained after last night and leaving him pretty exhausted. The heavy metal on his CD helped to keep him lucid and singing along to the lyrics, even if they only came out in a small murmur, kept him away from any kind of state of dissociation but he had to keep his eyes peeled for an open store on the winding streets anyway so it wasn’t too hard ignoring the urge to sleep.

 

Street after street showed no signs of life with all stores and places of work being closed after the evacuation, the only place Hank had seen so far with even a slither of life was a homeless shelter but there had been just a small handful of people inside so he’d ignored it. He wasn’t so desperate that he’d try to take food from a place usually so in demand of it and the place was long behind him now anyway, a few blocks away in fact; he hadn’t had the need to stop for even a second with how empty the city was...it was pretty scary.

 

It was like a bomb had gone off but there was no destruction, there weren’t even any car roadblocks like you’d usually see in disaster movies because the roads were completely clear; all cars parked where they’d last been before the military had invaded. Hank supposed to most damaged areas would be where Jericho had set up camp but he was far enough away from all that right now to see absolutely no damage to the surrounding buildings or scenery whatsoever.

 

With a sigh he continued on driving.

 

At this rate he’d run out of gas before finding an open store and have to abandon his car like everyone else had. Hank really didn’t like that idea since he loved his poor old car so dearly; there was nothing that could pull him away from abandoning one of his most prized possessions...well...starvation would obviously do the trick but it’s not like he hasn’t gone without food for a few days before...he’d manage.

 

Coming up around another corner a flash of colour caught the Lieutenants attention, with a dash of his head and a flick of his eyes he singled in on the only colourful thing he’d seen in what felt like hours. With everything in the city having become deeply covered in snow and with no pedestrians or workers around to push or shuffle their way through it; the surrounding streets had just become one dull colourless slate after another. The neon red ‘OPEN’ sign however stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the whites and grays and Hank found himself sighing in relief. Finally! Somewhere was open.

 

Not even bothering to park in a designated space, Hank pulled up in front of the store and turned off the car's engine, leaving the keys in the ignition as he clicked the door open to get out. He looked around for a second, making sure there was nobody about to suddenly come up the road behind him and pulled his keys from the ignition to put them back at home in his left hand jacket pocket. The car door slams shut and then Hank starts the slow trudge through the sleet and snow towards the shops entrance, making sure to take careful steps as to not trip on the curb or anything hiding underneath the few inches of snow before him.

 

For a brief moment through the shops windows he can just barely see the owner peeking up from behind all the advertisements taped to the glass before disappearing again somewhere inside. Pulling his right hand out from the warm confines of his jacket pocket, he pushes open the glass door and lets himself inside, a small jingle of a bell announcing his entrance and tickling his ears. The skin on his palm tingles from how chilly the handle had been in the cold weather and feels the movement of goosebumps spring up all over his body. The feeling is sudden but they’re ignored and almost immediately dispersed as he pushes the door closed behind him to be greeted by a welcoming warmth emitting from the overhead heater above the door.

 

Hank lets the pleasing hot air rush over him and warm his bones for a good few seconds, watching as it causes his fringe to sway uselessly in front of his lashes before picking up a basket on his immediate right to gather his groceries in.

 

Also on his immediate right he finds the store owner, crouched slightly amongst a stack of boxes lined up against the window and trying their hardest to arrange them neatly on the aisle. They wear a basic black and white work uniform with red accents on the sleeves as well as a small pinnie around their waist and at the sound of the door opening they stand upright to face him, a look of surprise evident on their face at actually having a customer at a time like this. Hank takes note of the deep-set wrinkles and heavy, dark bags under their eyes as they smile at him in welcome. They look as exhausted as he feels…

He returns the smile just to be polite and takes a quick look around the store to see if anyone else is in, apart from a small flash of movement from the gap in the staff room door at the very back of the store there are no indicators that anyone else is here but he isn’t really all that surprised.

 

The store owner wordlessly wanders over to and behind the counter and Hank can’t help but notice the slight bend to their back and the way they shuffle their legs as a way of walking as if they’re in pain. Perks of being a police Lieutenant is he can easily pick up on things...even when he doesn’t really mean to...or want to...but he doesn’t bother to ask if the clerk is ok since it’s not really his business. Hey, they could just have back pain from being old for all he knew, no point in asking random questions he didn’t need the answer to.

 

With a small shake of his head, Hank turns to the aisle on his right to look amongst its contents.

 

It takes him all but 5 seconds before he fucks up and ends up tripping over one of the boxes the clerk had been fiddling with prior. With an undignified squeak he falls forward but manages to fumble with his legs enough that he catches himself enough to not fall on his face, it’s too late however as the boxes in the window tumble forward and spill on the ground anyway, a few managing to bounce off of his body and scatter down the aisle away from him. He manages to shield his face from the worst of the onslaught but ends up standing dumbfounded in the middle of the mess he’s made.

 

Whoops.

 

Dropping to his knees in a flash he puts his basket off to the side and tries to sort a bunch of the boxes back into a pile whilst cursing under his breath. He hears a fast but light tap of footsteps and looks up to see the clerk making their way over, a flash of worry that turns into annoyance on their face before they bend down, albeit a lot slower than Hank had, to pull the boxes out of his hands with a small ‘tut’ leaving their mouth.

 

“It is fine dear, let me fix it. These boxes have been giving me pain all morning, don’t worry yourself over them.”

 

The clerks voice is a bit croaky from old age but they make themself clear enough with a little wave of their wrinkled hand, making a ‘shoo’ motion to Hank as they continue to stack the boxes back on top of the ones still standing in the window. Hank finds himself a bit sheepish at having completely destroyed all progress they’d had at stacking the annoying boxes and scratches at the base of his neck.

 

“Are you sure? I could- _should_ help you pick them back up since I knocked them all over after all.”

 

But the clerk only shakes their head at his answer with another smile.

 

“Like I said; they have been giving me trouble all day, it is no problem for me. I should have stacked them better previously, now go grab your shopping, you can call me to the desk when you are ready, yes?”

 

They look up at him at the final question, eyes determined but also on the verge of teasing, not leaving his face until he answers. He can tell they’re not mad because of the small smile tugging at the corners of their mouth.

 

“Uh...yeah sure, of course…” Hank ends up mumbling, still kind of sheepish at not helping fix the mess; but if that’s what the clerk wants, then he won't argue.

 

They close their eyes and give him a pleased nod at his answer, shuffling on their knees to get into a more comfy position before opening their heavy lids to look out around at how many boxes had spilled onto the floor, some even having made it halfway down the aisle. It would take a while to clean the mess, but it wasn’t like they had been doing anything else prior to Hank coming in and knocking over the half finished box pile, so they supposed it would just be something to continue doing whilst he shopped.

 

With a grunt Hank stands back up, swinging his arm out to grab at the basket he’d placed off to the side and then looking down at the clerk for a final time with a shake of his head. Sitting on the floor like that in their old age wouldn’t be good for their knees, heck, sitting like that hadn’t been good for _his_ knees the full 9 years he’d been fathering Cole and he was only in his 40’s-50’s back then, who knew how old this store owner was right now and what damage would be happening in their old joints. But that didn’t really matter, because what mattered right now was _Food._

 

Spinning around, the Lieutenant carefully tiptoes his way away from the clerk and makes his way around and over the boxes littered on the floor. Glancing over the snacks on the isles either side of him, he stops every so often to carefully scrutinise the collection in front of him before reaching over to grab a chocolate bar to put in his basket. Once he’s finally stepped out of the maze of boxes he continues on with a lazy gait, forcing his shoulders to slump and letting himself zone out and into the carefree state of mind that comes with grocery shopping.

 

Hank decides to find the items that are highest on his mental shopping list and the things he needs the most before anything else, first and such items include; bread, more cheese, some eggs, crisps and small bottles of water all of which find their way into his basket after not too long. Next comes just general snacks he can throw in the cupboard and grab to munch on throughout the day, he doesn’t bother returning to the first aisle where the clerk is still working as he doesn’t want to bother them or get in the way whilst they clean so he ends up walking in the opposite direction to find biscuits and cakes to grab. He ends up passing a fruit aisle and begrudgingly picks up a packet of mixed fruit slices that he can stick in the fridge and ‘forget about’ later lest a _certain someone_  decides to judge his dietary choices.

 

With items slowly starting to pile up in his basket Hank honest to god feels himself smiling, realising to himself that it’s been a while since he’s just gone out shopping for food at a store, usually having just auto-pilloted himself into buying take out or stopping off at the Chicken Feed or another food stall in the city whenever he’s hungry, but carrying around a basket and watching it fill up brings back good memories from his past when little hands and a big smile had been his company around such a place, slipping in sweets and chocolate when their dad thought he wasn’t looking.

 

He hopes he can make similar memories in the future but with Connor.

 

Right…

 

Connor…

 

Hm.

 

Things had happened so fast at Cyberlife, what with him rushing home to watch the news after Connor had pretty much _begged_ him to go, he’d gone as fast as his poor car could take him just so he could tune into the news to watch and find out if the kid was going to be okay and he’d been rewarded for his efforts by being able to watch live as the kid marched through the streets with his pack of androids hot on his heels. But remembering all his previous thoughts and feelings from before he’d conked out last night was painful, he definitely remembers being exhausted after worrying hard enough about Connor to give himself an anxiety attack but does he _really_ want to remember that? Not really no.

 

Then again he’d set himself off again this morning anyway, not even being able to leave the house for five seconds without _worrying_ if Connor was going to be ok even _after_ all the dangerous shit was done and over with by worrying about if the kid would fit in with the rest of the deviants or feel like an outcast…Perhaps Connor would end up leaving, possibly running away being unable to deal with his own guilt and making himself homeless.

 

In that case...maybe the kid could live with him?

 

No-

 

Nope.

 

Hank shakes the thought from his head. He’ll burn that bridge when he gets to it. Because right now though he still hasn’t found the _damn booze_ and he definitely needs to be at least a little bit tipsy before he starts thinking about _that._ Strolling to the end of the isle, Hank finds himself at the other end of the store and looks back on all the isles he’d passed since, having not seen the alcohol anywhere. He knows there’s got to be something _somewhere_ , he hadn’t seen any behind the counter upon walking in, there was only cigarettes back there and he definitely _didn’t_ smoke thank you very much, so where the hell was it all??? He shuffles so he’s leaning his back against one of the freezer doors, standing on his toes for a second to try and see over to tops of the shelves to see if he’d missed it somewhere.

The whole back wall to the store had non food items such as books and CD’s and DVD’s so it wouldn’t be there...The store wasn’t that big, but it also wasn’t that small, it was a large enough general store for someone to buy all kinds of groceries that they needed so where the fuck was-?

 

A quick flash of movement out of the corner of his eye catches Hanks attention and he whips his head around towards the movement, his loose fringe piece lagging behind its owner a second later and smacking him across the forehead when it caughts up with him. He pulls the stupid piece back and behind his ear with an annoyed twitch of the wrist before stalking his way down the freezer aisle towards what he’d thought looked like a person. He knew it wasn’t the clerk; they were still moving and tidying up the boxes and he knew _that_ because not only could he hear the shuffling of movement from them in the otherwise silent store but he could also see their kneeling form in one of the mirrors built to hang from the ceiling to deter shoplifters. So who could it be? Maybe another worker who’d just been hanging out in the previously unlocked staff room considering they hadn’t had any customers? He kind of hoped it was because then he could ask where they kept the alcohol. He could just ask the store owner of course, but he didn’t want to make any more of a fool of himself after having destroyed their box tower not a minute into entering the store.

 

The Lieutenant stops for a second to furrow his eyebrows towards the fridges on his right; noticing the ready meals inside and realising he hadn’t really thought about getting any kinds of dinners for himself, just general food items. He quickly grabs a few packages he know he’ll like, not bothering to look at the best by dates (he never does...on anything) before continuing on with his stalk down the aisle towards his destination.

 

Only when he’s near the end of the aisle is when he sees it; alcohol!

 

The bottles had been placed in the freezer to keep them cool and fresh, ice cubes taking up pretty the entirety of the freezers storage so the bottles could be buried up to the cap for maximum cooling. Hank decides he’s going to grab the alcohol first _then_ check out whatever the flash in the corner of his eye could have been afterwards just to get all of his shopping in his basket and out of the way beforehand.

 

Reaching the freezer window, he places his (admittedly heavy) basket on the floor to open the freezer door with two hands, taking out a bottle and placing it in the basket below him. Just as he’s standing up again to grab another bottle he sees the same flash of movement from before and again whips his head around to see what it is. Thankfully his hair doesn’t smack him this time, behaving by staying behind his ear, but he yet again doesn’t see what the moving thing is. He lets out a huff in annoyance and continues to collect the beer bottles, lifting up the freezer door once again and dropping down the second bottle, it settles with a clink next to the previous one and _yet again_ when he’s standing up there’s a flash in the corner of his eye. He decidedly ignores it that time and picks up another bottle, placing it in his basket as if nothing had happened next to the other two. On the fourth bottle, when he reaches forward into the ice to grab at it he unexpectedly whips his head around and stares straight into the eyes of someone peeking out at him from behind the fridges.

 

The mysterious person gasps, quickly ducking backwards and out of eyesight and Hank can’t help but snort, pulling out his final bottle and settling it down next to the other 3 with a final clink. Letting the freezer door drop shut he decidedly leaves the basket on the floor to make his way over to the peeper. His mind wanders over to the flash of something he’d seen behind the door when first entering the store that he’d originally ignored, thinking it just a trick of the light or a shadow since he’d been so far away, but as it turned out; there was in-fact someone else in the store! And they were peeping on him! And ver surprised on being found!

 

How _curious…_

 

Making it to the end of the aisle and coming up on the door, Hank could see a dark silhouette hunched over in the dark, its body moving in a way to look like it was trembling. Was it really trembling or it was the shadows in the room playing tricks on him? He’d know soon enough anyway.

With one quick pull the staff room door creaks open and light floods in from the store into the back room, basking the figure in light. The noise is startlingly loud compared to the absolute silence around it and the person in front of him gasps again at being found but their body locks up. Hank can see clearer now that their arms are wrapped around themselves in comfort and that they’re sporting the same outfit as the clerk; all black and white with a few red accents. Just as he’s about to reach out and ask if the person is ok he can hear the quiet ‘tap-tap-tap’ of running feet on tiles before a hand is pulling him back and out of the doorway by his jacket.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The croaky voice of the old shop clerk bellows.

 

Startled, Hank finds himself struggling for a second to find his balance but gets there eventually, having swung his arms out for purchase on something and grabbing at the fridge behind him for support. He finds himself staring down wide eyed at an angry and defensive clerk whom not too long ago had seemed perfectly calm and polite.

 

“Wh-what am I doing? That’s what I should be asking you! Why’s this person staring at me when my backs turned-” Hank makes a vague gesture with his hand to the other person still hunched over behind the clerk. “-and running off and hiding once spotted in the staff room with the lights off?”

 

The clerks eyebrows raise suddenly at that and they turn towards the person they’d been shielding; all anger on their face gone. Tentatively the clerk reached out their hands and glides them onto the figures back with a slight shake.

 

“ _Is that true?_ ” The clerk asks, voice barely above a whisper to not startle the figure, the tension in the air almost choking.

 

The figure shudders slightly, turning their head to the left to let the clerk see their nod.

 

“Oh, chǒng'ér…” The clerk pulls the figure into a hug and out of the doorway, burrying the figures face into their neck to comfort them with a hand on the back of their head.

 

The foreign word is lost on Hank but he can tell from the clerks tone of voice that its a term of endearment so he doesn’t question it, instead moving away from the fridge and straightening out his jacket from where it had been pulled.

 

“I-I just heard the door open and I was curious...I know you said I could buzz for you if I wanted to talk but I just...I haven’t seen another person in so long after the military arrived and I was just- It’s so lonely back here I-” The person lets out a shudder of breath, almost as if they want to cry and bring their arms up and around the clerk to tighten their hug quickly before starting to pull away and look in Hanks direction.

 

The clerk makes a few tutting noises at their confession before letting out a fast stream of ‘no no no's and pulling their face back out of Hank’s line of sight. The whole thing was confusing said Lieutenant more and more by the second. The person hadn’t seen anyone but the clerk in a long time? They were super lonely? Why couldn’t he look at their face specificly? What on earth was the clerk hiding from him? His police instincts were telling him something _really wasn’t right here_ but he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. He was about to ask one of the many questions that were forming in his head before the clerk looked over their shoulder at him and gave him a scrutinising look.

 

“Sir...how do you feel...about the android revolution?”

 

Now that was a question and a half....Not knowing where to start Hank furrows his eyebrows alongside a confused shrug of his shoulders.

 

“Why do you ask?”

 

“It is important you answer this question, for if you don’t, I will be forced to remove you from my store.”

 

Ah. Well, that was fair enough. Hank can’t see himself finding another store as clean or as stocked as this anywhere else in the whole of Detroit so he just shrugs again, placing his hands in his jacket pockets and deciding to co-operate by answering the clerks question.

 

“If you’re asking whether I support the deviants or not? Yeah, I’m on their side. Helps that I’m friends with one of the little shits responsible for helping them win against those military assholes.”

 

The clerk raises their eyebrows at his use of language but nods once, stepping back slowly with the person in their arms and bringing them out more into the open. Hank can feel the tension is lifted from the air and he lets out a sigh, looking down he can see the clerk turning the person in their arms slowly as if to not jostle them, making them face him fully and-

 

Well, what do you know...

 

They have an LED on the side of their head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> made a very tiny edit where i fixed hanks age, i originally wrote him saying 'im 56' when ingame hes actually '53' so i fixed it cuz this definitely doesnt take place 3 years in the future lmao :')


	3. Talk with your son simulator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank finds out what the deal is with the clerk and their mysterious android and Finally gets a call from Connor to find out how he is. Everything leads up to the final secret hug cutscene and a happy ever after. Hopefully after all this is over Hank can get a break from worrying for just....two seconds....please....he's so tired....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY FINISHEED WRITING REEEE  
> i set myself a dumb challenge to make every chapter 3000 words longer than the last so enjoy 9000 words of mainly talking because hank finally finds out what his sons fuckin doin
> 
> thanks for all the kudos and views and bookmarks and everything y'all have given me so far its incredible how many of you there are that have enjoyed this wow :'o glad to know you guys enjoy seeeing our local resident dad worry over his so like thee rest of us :') enjoy this final chapter and MAYBE ill write something more happy in the future !!

A raise of his eyebrow is all the android gets at first, as whilst Hank is intrigued; he’s also....concerned. Yes it’s good that this android has had somewhere to stay where they’re safe and out of harm’s way but also....how long have they really been in hiding? Had they deviated before the android uprising? Had they deviated after the military had arrived? From how shaken they looked they seemed to be quite sensitive and that combined with the previous days military shootings definitely wouldn’t be good for their health now would it? Hank doesn’t really know and it isn’t really his business but...being as concerned as he was about androids was now a given. Kinda.

 

“Oh...hi there…” He starts dumbfounded, not really sure what to say.

 

The android refuses to give him eye contact, their eyes darting in every which direction and even towards their guardian as they play with the long strands of hair hanging down the side of their face. It looked like it had been cut recently; ends jagged and uneven down the left side with the parting on the right cutting off to a shaved head. It’s not a pre-designed hair cut thats for sure and Hank supposes it’s to make the android look more human but....well, with their LED still flickering between yellow and red on their forehead there’s no way they could pass for a human.

 

“Hello...uhm...I’m sorry for watching you…” The android mumbles. They glance at his eyes once before looking away again; obviously uncomfortable.

 

The Lieutenant shrugs, letting out a short, humorless chuckle and glancing to the clerk to see their reaction. They’re watching the exchange with apprehension; eyes like a hawk looking over Hank; just waiting for him to spring into any kind of attack. He’s not going to obviously, but from the steely gaze the clerks giving him he doesn't even think he’d stand a chance.

 

“It’s fine. I’m used to it by now. My uh- my...son?- does the same thing occasionally, gotta remind him to blink sometimes even if he doesn’t need to.”

 

Calling Connor his son to strangers feels...right....in a way. He’s definitely been thinking about it a lot over the past few days and even though he hasn’t known the kid long; it’s definitely something he wants. His parental urges have gotta go somewhere damn it, there’s only so much parenting you can do to a fully grown dog or a potted plant and with how much his anxieties been flaring up in such a short amount of time with how worried he’s been; if Connor doesn't at least  _ consider _ the thought of Hank being his guardian then he’s gonna riot. Against Connor. Personally.

 

It won’t be pretty.

 

He’s pretty sure his anxieties are gonna kill him one day and Connors gonna be the main culprit. In the past that thought would have been cathartic, he’s being doing so little to take care of his body that the thought of dying is a comman occurance but now...well, Hanks sure Connors gonna make him do a 360 just to get his life back into shape as soon as he’s back from wherever he is and  _ that  _ thought is both very pleasing and incredibly annoying.

 

“You have an android son?” The clerk asks, placing an arm on their own androids shoulder and giving them a small smile.

 

Hank scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

 

“Ehhhh...kinda? I’m quite fond of the idea but I dunno if he is…”

 

And it’s the truth wholeheartedly, because even if Connor has shown interest in Hank’s wellbeing; it could just be a basic understanding of knowing to care about other people; Hank could just be imagining things and Connor could have no want nor need for a parental figure in his life at all. And if that isn’t just a little bit depressing then that would be a lie.

 

But at his answer the clerk gives a small sad but knowing nod, moving away from him and the android but stopping before fully getting behind the shop counter.

 

“I am sure you two can work it out. For now though I have another question. It is fine if you cannot answer but I would like to know...does it hurt to remove the LED from an androids head?”

 

Hank thinks for a moment, crossing his arms in contemplation. He’s read back on a few case files where deviated androids were questioned and tries to recall if that question had ever come up anywhere but finding he can’t really remember. It’s a pretty specific question anyway so even if he could remember every case file perfectly word for word like Connor probably could; he’s pretty sure the question wouldn’t even had been asked in the first place, so he gives a curt shake of the head in response.

 

“Not that I know of, sorry. I shouldn’t think it would hurt, generally androids don’t feel pain as badly as we did so even if the removal of it would case any type of pain; it shouldn’t be paralysing.”

 

The clerk gives him a small nod at that answer, finally making their way behind the counter and pulling open a drawer to grab a pair of scissors. They make their way back over and give the android a reassuring smile before turning to Hank and holding the scissors out to him.

 

“We were not sure if it would be wise to remove the LED or not but it is better for them if we do so, don’t you agree? They will be able to blend in more once it is gone.”

 

Hank nods but looks down at the scissors in confusion. Do they expect him to do it? He’s never done such a thing before and doesn’t want to cause the android any unnecessary harm encase he ends up fucking it up.

 

“Uh- yeah I agree with you and all but...you want me to do it? We don’t exactly know each other, I don’t think you should put your trust on a stranger to do something like this…” He makes sure to ask; unsure if the clerk should really be trusting him so easily with the act of practically stabbing the android in the head.

 

But the clerk only shakes their head with a small smile, left hand coming up to rest on the androids shoulder once again and they smile back; the corners of their mouth rising to the highest Hanks seen yet. Their shivers are gone now too, he notices, knowing that they’re not in any danger and are now having a calm and civil conversation with him.

 

“I’m old and my eyes are not what they used to be, plus, you have shown that I can trust you by not calling the police as soon as you saw my android friend here so I think those a good enough reasons for you to do it, yes?”

 

At that Hank can’t help but snort, covering his mouth slightly embarrassed at letting the noise escape but deciding to pick up the scissors to distract himself from it.

 

“That’s because I  _ am _ a cop and besides, you guys are free now, you don’t deserve any more bullshit than you’ve already had to deal with-  _ especially _ from cops.”

 

The android frowns slightly at that but the Lieutenant gives them a reassuring smile.

 

“Android son, remember? Little shit helped bring me around to you guys. Nothin’ to worry about.”

 

With a nod the android steps forward into Hank’s space and takes a deep breath to calm down their systems. They don’t really need to breathe but the action itself is soothing and helps calm any last nerves they have about doing this; it shouldn’t hurt, and even if it does it won’t hurt too badly; they can do this; they will live; its nothing to fear.

 

“Alright, i’m- i’m ready.” They finally answer, voice slightly shaky but nothing they can’t handle.

 

“Good, I’m glad you are, cuz I definitely am not.”

 

“What?”

 

“Cm’ere kiddo.” Hank gestures with his hand and grabs their shoulder, twisting them slightly to the side to get a better view of the LED.

 

“Uhm-”

 

“Just ignore me and focus on literally anything else, ok?”

 

The android laughs nervously at his response but looks away to give Hank better access.

 

“Yeah ok, sure.”

 

With a sigh, Hank brings up the scissors and positions them so the sharpest point is digging into the outer side of the ring where plastic flesh meets LED. He has no idea what he’s doing but he guesses that the ring can just pop off like a bottle cap. If it doesn’t well he’ll just have to dig the thing out and hope for the best. Hopefully he doesn’t dig in too deep and accidentally stab the androids brain or something...that’d be traumatising for all of them.

With a little jiggling the scissors push under the ring with a click; the ends disappearing underneath and causing the skin to spiral out over their forehead in a mesmerising white. It catches Hank off guard at first but he forces himself not to make any sudden moves so as to not damage them but starts to push the metal in a little bit further until he’s able to bend the scissors against their forehead and pop the ring off.

 

The LED makes a small clicking noise as if lands on the ground and bounces once before becoming still. Hank pulls the scissors away and pats the android on the shoulder as their dark skin glides back over to “heal” the gap. Hanks just glad he didn’t fuck it up and destroy their brian or whatever. They turn around to look at the little circle on the ground before reaching up to where it had been to find their skin smooth and LED-less; as if it hadn’t even been there in the first place and gives him a broad smile teeth and all.

 

Surprisingly they surge forward and give him a hug also.

 

It’s nice.

 

With a cough Hank reaches up behind them and pats their back before they pull away; still smiling.

 

“It didn’t hurt at all!” They answer to Hank’s questioning stare, suddenly very peppy. “Thank you for removing it sir! Now I should be able to blend in, right?”

 

“Sure, kid.” Hank chuckles, patting them on the shoulder once more before handing the scissors back to the store clerk. It doesn’t really matter if they would be able to blend in with humans anymore now that the android rebellion had ended peacefully but, well, if it made them feel more secure that’s all that really mattered.

 

“Thank you for doing that, I am glad it was not too hard to do nor hurt them in any kind of way. Perhaps now we can check out your groceries, yes?”

 

The clerks question reminds Hank of why he’d been here in the first place and he remembers his poor shopping basket he’d abandoned over by the freezers. With a blink and a ‘oh yeah’ he hurries over to it and grabs it, hoping nothing frozen in the basket had defrosted whilst he’d been busy.

 

It’s still all cold, thank god.

 

\----

 

Now that the android feels more comfortable, they end up leaving the doorway of the staff room and help Hank with bagging his items after the clerk scans them into the till and hands them to the pair. Surprisingly they’re quite chatty and end up asking him a bunch of questions as they pack.

 

“Where do you work?”

“What’s your sons name?”

“Where’d you meet him?”

“Where is he right now?”

“Why are you still in the city?”

“Why didn’t you evacuate with the other humans?”

 

All of the questions are kind of overwhelming at first but he answers them as best as he can and because it’s the least he can do for the socially starved android. They’d said they were lonely and hadn’t spoken to anyone but their guardian for a while whilst they were in hiding so...of course he’d humor them and answer their many questions. He didn’t want to say anything too in depth since he was still unsure about the whole “Son” thing to respond like; “Oh yes he is 100% my son and I have already adopted him despite there being no laws on the matter as of yet” but...it was nice to be able to tell someone else about things.

 

Once they’d finished packing up Hank’s things in bags and ringing up the items on the till the android gave him a sheepish smile.

 

“Thanks for amusing me and answering those questions, it’s just been so lonely here and I-”

 

Hank cuts them off with a laugh as he bring out his wallet to pay the clerk behind the till; fishing out the right number of bills needed.

 

“It’s fine, kid, no need to make excuses for yourself. Just promise me you won’t lose that boundless energy you’ve got; it’s good to see people still so positive despite all the crap going on.”

 

The android gives him a happy nod and passes him one of his shopping bags. Hank hands over the money and tells the clerk to keep the change before taking the bag offered to him.

 

“Will do, sir! You can count on me.” They smile at him again; attitude so drastically different from just a few minutes ago. “Enjoy the rest of your day!”

 

The fake customer voice mixed with the genuine optimism in the androids tone is a hilarious confliction but Hank smiles anyway, appreciating the gesture anyway and picking up the second bag in this free hand. There’s only three of them so he picks up the last with a bit of a struggle; holding two bags in one hand pulling tight at the skin in his palm but he’ll live. With a nod at the clerk and a “Thanks, you too.” to the android he makes his way to the door. The clerk walks around the counter and holds it open for him.

 

“Thank you again, I’m glad you came in today. We will remember this day fondly for the rest of our lives.”

 

Hank chuckles awkwardly at that wanting to scratch at his neck but unable to with the shopping currently pulling at his wrists.

 

“Aw, there’s no need for that, I didn’t do much…”

 

“And yet what you did was more than anyone else has done so far.”

 

His smile drops slightly at that. Had these two really not had any positive contact or people interact with them in so long that his small act of just  _ being a decent human being _ was seen as something noteworthy for the rest of time? If so he was reeaaallly disappointed in humanity right now- pretty much the entire population of humans in Detroit had evacuated at the threat of military personal entering the city and none of them had even thought to stay and help those protesting peacefully for equality or to even think to try and help those stranded? Hypocritical cowards the lot of ‘em.

 

Hank sighs but decides to leave it, walking out through the open door and turning one last time to look at both the clerk and android watching him go from the doorway.

 

“You two promise me you stay safe out here, alright? Streets are pretty empty but I know there’s some shady people around here somewhere; still hanging out ready to pounce on any unsuspecting civilians.”

 

From the doorway the clerk nods, bringing up a hand to rest on the android and giving them a small smile.

 

“We promise we will be alright, thank you sir. Have a good night.”

 

And with a final nod the door is closed; stopping any snow from blowing in from the outside.

 

Hank finds himself sighing after the conversation is all said and done and he’s left to his own thoughts once more. The wind had picked up whilst he’d been inside and it plays with the loose strands of hair around his face so he hurries along through the snow to his car, almost forgetting about the change in height between the curb and the road and catching himself before he falls on his face when he stumbles. He continues on with a grunt and drops a bag to grab his car keys in his pocket, opening the door and dumping the bags on the passenger seat before sliding into the seat and slamming the door shut behind him to make sure no more heat escapes the warm confides of the car interior.

 

With a huff into his hands to try and warm them up; he strokes them over his scalp to smooth any loose strands back out of his eyes before grabbing at his keys again and turning on the car, finding the hum of the vehicle soothing. It’s a familiar noise that manages to put him at ease. With one last look towards the store he sets the car into gear and starts on down the road to find a way back home; now that he’s not worrying about starving the drive back is very tranquil and he doesn’t even need to put his music on; the peaceful drift between the streets blanketed in white drastically different from when he’d first driven out here. It’s almost like he’s in a different city now that he’s not wracked with worry and exhaustion, the grays and whites of the streets around him that he’d previously seen as dull; looking pleasantly peaceful and calm. If it wasn’t as cold he’d consider taking Sumo out on a walk around the nearest park and let the dog play in the snow, lord knows the poor dog deserves it but even with his heavy, thick coat; even Sumo would feel the effects of the freezing weather and there was no way in hell Hank was going to let his poor pup freeze his paws off. They’d both have to wait until the weather got warmer before either of them could go out on a walk together.

 

It doesn’t take too long before Hank finds a familiar road and follows it back home, pulling up the drive and as close to the front door as possible so he can rush in; not wanting to stay out in the cold weather any more than was needed. It’s a bit of a juggle to lock the car once he’s out and then open the front door with his hands full but he manages somehow; letting himself fall back against the door once he’s in and feeling relief as the heat from the house washes over him; chasing away the cold that had seeped into his body.

 

At the sound of Hank entering Sumo bounds over, tongue bouncing happily with each step. He sniffs the bags, curious, before letting out a happy ‘boof!’ and wagging his tail side to side. The actions make Hank smile and he lets out a chuckle at his over enthusiastic dog.

 

“There’s nothin’ in there for you, Sumo, c’mon boy outta the way before this stuff melts.”

 

Hank nudges Sumo out of the way with his foot and the dog obliges, shuffling to the side but following after his owner intrigued as Hank hurries into the kitchen to drop the bags on the table with a sigh. He shakes out his hands to try and relieve the combined ache from the cold and sting of the plastic digging into his palm before unpacking the bags, he pulls out the frozen food first to place in the freezer and then goes on to pull out anything fridge worthy; the beer, fruit, eggs, milk etc...then it’s on to the other items which he just throws into the cupboards and on the counter for later. He doesn’t really have anywhere specific to put his plastic bags; being that he hardly ever goes out shopping; so he once again throws them in a random cupboard for later. Finding himself hungry all of a sudden he grabs at a snack bar at random and rips the packaging open, taking a large bite to appease his stomach and predictably Sumo sits at his feet; watching every motion with his big puppy eyes.

 

“No, Sumo…you’ve still got food in your bowl for fucks sake!” Hank teases, motioning to said bowl with his free hand. Sumo looks back at the bowl for a second before reclaiming Hank’s gaze and he sighs; breaking off a piece of the bar and dropping it, watching as Sumo happily gobbles it down in one go. “Greedy guts…”

 

A sudden buzzing noise cuts through the silence from the living room and Hank raises an eyebrow. Is that his phone? Who’d be calling him at a time like this? With a flick of the wrist the empty snack wrapper drops to the counter and Hank dips to his fridge to pull out a beer, he’s damn thirsty and hasn’t had anything alcoholic in what feels like forever so he guesses he’s deserving of one of his newly acquired beverages. With only a few paces he’s in the living room and digging around on the table looking for his phone. He finds it under a stack of magazines and pushes them to the side to pick up the buzzing device; looking down to the screen he sees a bunch of numbers and an ‘Unknown Caller ID’ plus 5 missed calls scroll across so with a flick of his thumb he unlocks it and picks up the call.

 

“Yeah, hello? Who is this?”

 

On the other end he can hear someone sigh in relief and then-

 

“Hank! There you are- I’ve been calling your number for a while now!”

 

“Connor? Is that you?!”

 

How in the hell had Connor gotten his number? And more importantly where the hell was he? Was he okay? What was he doing? God, Hank had so many questions that needed answering right now.

 

“Yes, it’s me, hello Hank.” Connor answers, bordering on teasing.

 

Hank can practically  _ hear  _ the smirk in his voice, damn kid. He lets himself fall down onto the couch in relief and pops the bottle cap off on the table, taking a swig as Sumo jumps up next to him to settle his fluffy head down on Hanks lap. He balances the phone between his shoulder and ear to drop the hand into Sumos fur and give him some pats before asking what’s been giving him anxiety since yesterday.

 

“Are you doing alright, kid?”

 

There’s a long tick of silence on the other end which makes Hank more concerned by the second but then Connor responds; tone of voice doing a 180 and making him sound more tired than Hanks ever heard him.

 

“That’s supposed to be what I asked you Hank...but...I suppose you could say i’m “alright”. Everything has been going by so fast over here that it’s hard to catch a break and find some time to sit down and think to myself. It’s strange out here, I don’t know what to think...but I really hope I didn’t worry you too much...I’d hate to have caused you any undue alarm…”

 

At that Hank can’t help but chuckle. Worry him? That’s an understatement and a half. The androids left him in a state of disarray ever since he  _ met _ him for crying out loud, and the anxiety he’s been feeling anytime he’s so much as thought about thim? No, he won’t tell Connor about that of course as from what the android had just said it sounds like he’s overworked and doesn’t need that on top of everything else. Hank really doesn’t want to lie but...knowing Connor’s ok; hearing his voice; it’s enough to push through the guilt.

 

“Nah I’m doing okay- well all that’s better than nothing right? You haven’t lost any limbs? Everything’s still intact? I don’t need to come over there and help patch you up do I?” The humour in his voice is fake, something to hide the growing concern and worry that’s slowly snaking its way up his gut. He hopes Connor doesn’t realise the fake tone for his own sake.

 

He doesn’t. Thank  _ god. _

 

Instead he gives Hank a small chuckle before sighing once more. It’s really not a good sound to hear from the android; usually so energetic and right minded.

 

“No...no I’m in one piece,” A scratchy noise sounds out through the receiver and then Hank hears a little grunt. “I could be warmer though, my temperature is lowering at an alarming rate. It’s almost at below freezing.”

 

“And why the hells that? You not inside and out of the wind, kid?” Hank feel his dad mode activate and reach maximum straight away.

 

Connor’s outside in this weather? Looking outside Hank can see it’s started snowing again. That’s not good. Fuck.

 

He hears Connor sigh  _ again. _ He really doesn’t like how much the androids been sighing in the last few minutes and he sounds almost dejected as the next few words leave his mouth;

 

“It doesn’t feel right being inside with all the other deviants. I can’t think with them all surrounding me, congratulating each other, celebrating; it’s too loud. I came outside to have some time for myself but...I don’t think I want to go back inside Hank. I can’t bring myself to go back in there and have them talk to me like I’m-” Connor cuts himself off, physically unable to finish the sentence as a shiver wracks his body.

 

Hank finds himself kind of stunned at Connors words; after regaining contact with him he wasn’t expecting...this...to be the first conversation they had. The android sounds very conflicted with himself but it’s obvious how uncomfortable he feels about being around the other androids and it rips at Hank’s heartstrings a little bit. Connor had been so confident when first leading the deviants through the streets of Detroit; stoic faced and determined on television and playful when Hank had first picked up on his call...so what had happened to the poor kid that he didn’t know about?

 

With a shift forward Hank picks up the phone from him shoulder, with a hand no longer smoothing through his fur Sumo nudges his head in his owners lap a little bit to get comfortable again but otherwise stays put. Hank takes a long swig from the beer bottle and swallows deeply before talking.

 

“Ok Connor, listen to me. First things first; get the fuck inside. This weather is gonna be hell on your systems or whatever and even if you don’t wanna talk to those guys; you’re gonna have to go inside so you don’t freeze to death-”

 

“But Hank-” Connor tries to interrupt him but Hank’s having none of it.

 

“No, kid, you listen to me; get inside and warm up  _ then _ we continue having this conversation, ok? Later I can bring you a coat but if you don’t go inside now I’m gonna be seriously worried.”

 

Connor shuts up before letting out a little huff.

 

“Alright Hank…”

 

He sounds annoyed.

 

At least it’s better than the absoleet dejection he’d been voicing earlier. There’s a few moments of silence again on the other end where all Hank can hear is the crunching of feet through snow and then there’s the sound of a door opening followed by muffled talking off in the distance.

 

“Ok, I’m inside now Hank.”

 

“Good,  _ now _ we can talk. So, what’s all this about it not feeling like you deserve to be with all the other deviants?” He questions, taking a sip of the beer.

 

“I...I don’t think I want to be talking about this when they’re all so close, the could overhear me.”

 

“So? Connor we need to talk about this-” Hank hears a noise of protest from Connors end and stops himself with a sigh. “Okay! - or at least talk about what happened after the whole march thing! C’mon, kid, you can’t call me after all this shit, drop that you don’t feel comfortable with the other deviants on me and then not expect me to want some kind of an answer! Just...tell me what’s wrong, kid…I’m listening...”

 

Silence answers him on the other end and he doesn’t get an answer. Alright then, guess Connors gonna do this the hard way. Hank huffs in annoyance, shifting forward to put his bottle down on the table and using his now free hand to wipe over his forehead in frustration.

 

“Look, I get it- you’re new to all this; feelings and shit, I know how much of a bitch they can be but please kid-  _ talk to me, _ if not about what’s got you down right now then just- about something else? Anything else? Hey- you said you’d been calling me for a while before I finally picked up, yeah? Why’s that? How’d you get my number even? Bet you snooped around in all my shit to find it huh?”

 

On the other end there’s the sounds of shuffling and Hank can even hear Connor sniff a little bit making him suddenly worried that maybe the android had gotten so upset he’d started crying but the noise is cut of by a small chuckle. The sound relieves him a little; at least Connor hasn’t decided to completely shut him off at least, he’d have hated if during their first conversation after being seperated he’d fucked up his trust with Connor by trying to be too supportive and breach an unknown barrier the droid had set up for himself. It sounds serious what Connor had started explaining to him but....if he wasn’t ready yet to talk to Hank about it, then he wasn’t going to push him about it.

 

“Well…” Connor starts, letting out another sniff. “Yes, the first time I went to the station and was directed to your desk...I looked around at all of your possessions, amongst them was a cellphone on its charging dock...I called you from it and stored your phone number in my databanks just incase I would ever need to call you again...I’m glad I did because it certainly came in handy.”

 

Hank can hear a little bit of a smile creep its way into Connors tone near the end and he feels himself smiling back.

 

“You can say that again, kid.”

 

“It certainly came in han-”

 

Hank bursts into laughter, making Sumo jump in his lap and he pats the dog to calm him down before shaking his head in disbelief.

 

“It’s an expression, Connor.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Fuckin’ androids.

 

\----

 

Once the initial awkwardness of the conversation got out of the way, the both of them were able to settle into casual small talk. Connor had asked how Sumo was without him there and Hank had told him Sumo missed him. He wasn’t sure if the dog really did miss Connor or not but it was the sentiment that counted. Hank had again asked about what happened after Connor had marched away with the pack of deviants and Connor had revealed just enough about what happened to keep him happy and sane:

 

-Connor had told all the deviants the plan.

 

-They’d marched down the streets unharmed towards Markus’ location.

 

-Seeing the acts of humanity from Markus and his small Jericho group plus the incoming swarm of deviants from behind; the military was forced to stand down.

 

-Markus had given a speech to all of the new and old deviants still standing.

 

-Then they’d all made their way towards the old android stores in the immediate area so they’d be out of the cold; splitting off into groups so that the stores wouldn’t be over crowded.

 

And that’s where Connor fond himself currently; stood inside a Cyberlife store that also currently housed the deviant leader himself and his three closest companions. The way Connor phrased it all made him sound unsure with himself, as if he couldn’t recall everything perfectly clear even though he’d been there first hand, but it was enough for Hank. He didn’t need every single little detail of what had happened; just enough to give him a inkling of an idea in trying to figure out why Connors mood had been so sour. So far he still didn’t really have any clue on what could be causing Connor to be so uncomfortable, but he’d told the android they’d talk about it another time and so another time it would have to be.

 

Other topics that had come and gone had been about why Connor had called him five times before Hank had picked up. Apparently Connor had just been worried about him and wondered what he was doing whilst he was away. Hank had told him all about his shopping trip; about how he’d met an android in hiding and helped them remove their LED, that the clerk and them had said nobody else had been as kind as he had to them and that they’d remember his kind deed for the rest of time; about all the shopping he’d brought home and the booze he’d bought after Connor had thrown out the last of it and that he was drinking a bottle of it as they speak. That last bit had caused Connor to grumble out a “drinkings bad for you health” out of habit and Hank had just laughed; taking another swig from the almost empty bottle.

 

The last thing they would speak about over phone for today was; where would Connor go now if he didn’t feel comfortable staying with the other androids? Hank knew this topic would have to have been spoken about eventually; he’d been thinking about it to himself in the store earlier so...he supposes it’s better to talk about it now...instead of never. There’s booze in his system now anyway; it should help him somewhat.

 

Hank decides to ask the question out of the blue.

 

“Where are you going to stay, Connor?”

 

It takes a second for Connor to answer. Whilst they’d been chatting he’d moved himself further into the building away from the cold windows; into an empty corner and curled into a ball to look as small as possible on the ground. So far nobody had bothered him since quite a few other androids had also claimed spaces in the building for themselves and he’d been happy about that, but the question Hank sent his way caught him off guard. He looked around; hoping nobody had seen the way his eyes had sprung open in surprise but yet again; nobody's looking his way. With a lick of his lips and a shuffle of his behind he brings up his free hand that’s not holding onto the borrowed phone to wrap it around his legs.

 

“I don’t know Hank,” Connor answers truthfully. “I’ve overheard some of the other androids talking about previous homes they’d been in that they could go back to if the humans return and I heard Markus talking about going in to check on his father, Carl but....I don’t have anywhere to go. I considered going to the Cyberlife tower but since we free’d all the androids there I’d probably be the only one there and...I really don’t like the idea of going back there, especially not after what we did…”

 

Hank definitely notices how Connor still references the Cyberlife raid as something “we” did; something they both did together and something they wouldn’t have been able to do without the other, it makes him smile but at the same time...the thought of Connor going back there as somewhere to live rubs him the wrong way; it'd definitely not be safe for him to stay there; it’s not safe for any androids to go back there especially after their revolution. It hadn’t been safe for them to go back even before everything had happened, so going there now? Definitely Suicide.

 

“Yeah no, you’re not going back to Cyberlife, Connor, I physically won’t allow you too.”

 

“There where will I go Hank?” He asks tentatively, voice low and sounding almost scared for the answer he was going to get.

 

Hank considers his answer for only a second before blurting out;

 

“You could stay here?”

 

He’s not really tipsy, nor has he drunk as much as he wish he had before asking the question but well...desperate times call for desperate measures. With bated breath, Hank waits for Connors response.

 

….

 

“What?” Is Connor’s very dignified answer.

 

Hank feels like he’s going to combust. With a huff he flops back into the sofa cushion and starts fiddling with a few strands of Sumos fur to give his hand something to do whilst he tries to calm down his racing mind.

 

“I’m asking you if you’d like to live here- with Sumo- with  _ me _ \- jesus christ Connor do I really have to spell it out for you?”

 

“Oh...no you won’t have to do that Hank I- I understand the sentiment…”

 

Connors really killing him here with his non answers. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked? Maybe Connor doesn’t like the idea of staying with a washed up Lieutenant and his dumb dog. Maybe he’d prefer to live somewhere on his own, to figure out deviancy and what it’s like to be alive, maybe he’d-

 

“I’d like that, Hank.”

 

His spiralling thoughts are stopped dead in their tracks at the answer. Did he hear Connor correctly? Was that really a yes? He has to ask just to make sure he’d heard him correctly.

 

“Was that a  _ yes _ , Connor?”

 

“I do believe it was,  _ Lieutenant.” _ Connor answers back cheekily, voice laden with sarcasm.

 

Hank was gonna punch him, he swears to god…

 

“Alright smartass...well...where are you right now? I can come pick you up if you still feel uncomfortable staying there?”

 

There’s the sound of shuffling followed by the muffling of voices and then the rush of wind as Connor leaves the store.

 

“I really don’t think it would be safe for you around here Hank. It might be best if we meet up at a more secure or less populated location…”

 

Hank scoffs.

 

“Connor, the entirety of Detroit is abandoned, we could go literally anywhere and be in complete isolation, it won’t be hard to find somewhere to meet.”

 

“Hm...then perhaps we could meet somewhere that we both know is familiar? To save time on picking somewhere random and then having it backfire if there happens to be someone there?”

 

“Yeah that might work...where could we go though?” Hank gets an idea in mind almost immediately and smirks. “Oh- hey I know exactly where we can meet- how about Chicken Feed?”

 

Hank hears Connor groan on the over end, finds his smirk turning into a grin; perfect.

 

“I suppose the Chicken Feed  _ is _ quite unsuspecting and open, who would find the need to hang out around such an unhealthy location anyway?”

 

Ok now he’s just being an asshole, if Connor was there in front of him right now he’d have punched the android square in the arm. He knows Connor’s only teasing and its really good that he’s back into the swing of things but really? What had the Chicken Feed ever done to him personally?

 

Hank looks over to his window, finding that it’s still snowing and blowing up a gaze and can even hear it through the receiver near his ear and tuts realising Connor had gone back outside into the terrible weather at the bear minimum mention of getting away from the androids in the store. He’d really need to buy Connor a warm coat until the weather let up. He supposes one of his jackets would have to do for now, but until then…

 

“Not now though Connor, go back inside again, I’m not gonna let you walk through this fuckin’ weather no matter how badly you want to leave. You could get lost or at the worst your joints could freeze up.”

 

Hanks prepared for Connor to fight him again; to argue that he’ll be fine; that he can push through it all and use his built in GPS to guide him through the storm but he surprises him with a tight lipped and determined “OK.” It made Hank lift and eyebrow in surprise.

 

“‘OK’? Is that really all you’re gonna say? I’d expected you to at least argue with me a bit here, kid…had a whole caring speech planned and everything...”

 

There’s a shuffle of clothing against the receiver sounding as if Connor had shrugged before he answers; calm and clear despite the blowing wind.

 

“No, I don’t want to argue anymore Hank and I know you’re right. Travelling in this weather really would be an idiotic thing to do, I can see that now; especially without the proper clothing I’d quickly succumb to the temperatures and find myself shutting down. So...yes, I agree we should both wait until the weather has calmed down before meeting again.”

 

Hank slowly blinks at the long answer but a laugh pulls him out of the motion.

 

“Yeah ok, kid, no need to write an entire essay...But thanks for understanding, you’re really doing me a solid by keeping yourself safe out there.”

 

Hank finishes his sentence with a final pet to Sumo’s head before he stands up with a stretch. He hadn’t taken off his shoes or coat upon entering the house and he was honestly feeling a bit  _ too _ warm right now. He shuffles out of the coat, taking extra care not to drop the phone and throws it over the back of the couch, his shoes come of next and as he’s toeing them off Connor starts speaking again so he rushes to put the phone back against his ear.

 

“Of course...I’ll call you again once the weather has calmed down. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take too long…”

 

“Why? You really miss me that much, Connor?” Hank had meant it as a joke, even chuckling to himself a little, but Connor once again surprises him.

 

“Perhaps…”

 

Letting out a sigh Hank feels his features soften.

 

“Just hold on a little longer, son, we’ll get you outta there and somewhere more comfortable soon, just hang in there.”

 

“Yes...of course. See you later...dad.”

 

And then he drops the call.

 

The little shit  _ drops the call. _

 

Just like that; as if he hadn’t just dropped the ‘dad’ bombshell on him out of the blue. God when they finally see each other again he is  _ really _ going to punch him. He’ll hug the shit out of him first of course but then he’s gonna get punched for sure.

 

He forces out a groan and shoves a hand into the hair at his scalp, digging in hard enough to hurt. _ He was really doing this wasn’t he? He was going to be a father again? He’d never thought of the possibility and he was still grieving Cole for fucks sake- it hadn’t even been a few days ago when he was drinking himself stupid and tempting fate by playing russian roulette! _

 

And yet he’s still here.

 

He only really has Connor to thank for that; coming over and drenching his drunk ass in the shower to shake him from the depression and making sure he still continued working even when he didn’t want to; getting him back into the spirit of things and rekindling the spark that catching the perp and finding justice ignited in him; even if in the end it had all just ended up making him completely change his mind on androids and the ‘big bad’ was never truly caught; he was glad things had turned out the way they did because now he r _ eally did _ have an android son.

 

Hm...Maybe he could actually introduce him to the android in the store and their guardian...It would definitely give them both someone else to talk to at least.

 

The thoughts make him smile and he removes his hand from his scalp; smoothing down the loose hairs slowly before just saying “Fuck it” and pulling the hair tie out completely and throwing it to the table with his phone.

 

His stomach ruins the mood and decides it’s time to eat.

 

Again.

 

Lovelly.

 

\----

 

The next few hours go by uneventfully. Hank eats, drinks, feeds Sumo again and then finds himself anxious but at what this time he can’t really tell. It’s not a panic inducing anxiety this time, more of an annoying fluttering of energy in his chest he can’t seem to get rid of making him feel like he should be up and doing something. It’s probably tied to wanting to drive over and pick up Connor as soon as physically possible and wrap him up in a warm jacket so the kid isn’t in any more of an uncomfortable position than he already is but he’s knows that’s impossible with the terrible storm outside. It’s for the best of them that they both wait it out; for Connors internal systems and for Hanks poor old car.

 

Hank knows it’s not like Connor can’t handle himself around other people, he’s a state of the art android with the best processors out there and has the ability to run through every situation and possibility through his head in just a few seconds! He really wants to have faith in him and believe that he’ll be fine! But by now it’s basically ingrained itself into Hank’s DNA to be a huge fucking worry wart about everything and it’s exhausting to say the least but the thought of getting to give Connor a nice warm coat to swap out for the stupid flimsy Cyberlife jacket brings him just a little bit of peace.

 

He lets out a loud groan, dropping his head down onto a hand dangling uselessly over his keyboard. After eating he’d moved on to his computer; hoping to find something to do to distract himself until it was time to leave again but nothing was really grabbing his attention. At first he’d tried playing a few games, then browsing the internet and finally he’s watching videos on Youtube but he can’t focus on any of it.

 

The anxiety in his chest is making him fidgety and it’s starting to piss him off. The thought of screaming out in frustration was tempting but he didn’t want to scare poor Sumo away who was sitting at his master’s feet; comforting and close by; knowing that something was amiss and subtly trying to help in his own doggy way.

 

God what would he fucking do without Sumo.

 

In the end Hank just decides to slide off of the chair and lays down next to the dog, pushing hair out of his eyes so he can look at the St. Bernards in return. They hold eye contact for a few seconds before Sumo closes his heavy lids and huffs in his face; flicking his tongue out to wet his snout and tickling the bridge of Hanks nose in the process. Hank huffs back, sitting up to press a kiss to the dogs forehead with a small “Good boy…” before standing up. Whilst he’d happily lie down with Sumo on the couch or bed, lying on the floor is pushing it a bit. He has  _ some _ standards and the floors gross and hasn’t been hoovered in forever; full of dog hairs, dirt; dust and lots of over crap Hank would prefer to not end up in his hair or mouth.

 

With that thought in mind he moves back over to the couch and picks up his phone from where it had landed earlier on the coffee table. He turns the ringtone on before putting it down again then stretches out, dropping his feet on the other end of the couch and propping up a pillow to rest his head on. With a few pats to the cushion and some coaxing coos Sumo trots on over and plops his head on the pillow in front of Hank, not so helpfully smacking him in the face in the process. He pushes the dog out of his face with a snort before patting at the cushions by his knees instead.

 

“C’mon boy, jump up!”

 

Sumo looks down at the offering hand and jumps his forelegs up to look, reaching down to sniff at Hank in the way before falling back again with a small ‘wuof’.

 

“Oh don’t be like that you stupid pup, c’mon there’s loads of room for you, I ain’t that fat.”

 

Hank once again tries patting at the sofa, this time with both hands to try and make Sumo more interested and this time it works as the dog jumps up again with his forelegs but this time follows suit the motion with his hind legs. After only a little bit of shuffling and some kicks in Hanks crotch they settle into a comfortable position on the couch and Hank wraps his hand over Sumos middle so his arm isn’t crushed; the warmth of both the couch and his dog settles his anxieties somewhat and allows him to drift off into sleep.

 

\----

 

Heavy metal blasts throughout the living room and startles both human and dog awake. Sumo is the first to move, bolting up from his spot in front of Hank and jumping up off the couch to bark at the noise coming from the table. Grumbling at being interrupted from his peaceful sleep, Hank moves slower than his dog; taking the time to sit up and yawn. Hair is plastered to his right cheek from where he’d been resting and he rubs at it to unstick it from his gob before scooting forward to grab for the phone. He makes sure to calm down Sumo before picking up the call, noticing its Connor’s number. This time Connor’s the first one to speak.

 

“Hello Hank. It only took me one call this time for you to pick up, thats a new record.”

 

Hank snorts; wipes at the sleep in his eyes with the back of his hand.

 

“Connor not only is that now an unbeatable record but you’ve never even called me before today so I don’t think you get to sass me.”

 

He can hear the android chuckle on the other end, it’s definitely a better sound than him hearing him sighing all the time.

 

“Well...I called to ask if you’re ready. The wind has died down now and it’s quite bright out, the suns even shining!”

 

Wait, it’s ‘bright out’?

 

Hank looks up towards the window, this time having to squint at the sunlight shining in from outside mixed with the white of the snow. Oh yeah...it  _ is _ bright out. It’s strange to see the sky so clear after the dark cloudy day they’d had previously but it’s definitely a nice change. Like the calm after a storm...in this case both literally and figuratively. He stifles a yawn against his hand and pulls his feet down to land in the carpeting whilst he goes through the actions of waking up.

 

“Well ain’t that a fuckin’ change. Too bad it couldn’t have been like that earlier though- hey, kid, what’s the time anyway?”

 

“It’s around 4am, Hank.”

 

“4am? Fuck...how long was that storm goin’ on for…” Hank stretches out his back one arm at a time, making sure to keep the phone against his ear as Connor answers him.

 

“Approximately 5 hours. It definitely lasted a lot longer than anyone thought it would. I heard some androids worrying about if the snow would block the doors from opening but I ended up leaving and re-entering enough times to clear a pathway through the entrance.”

 

Hank can’t help but smirk at that mental image, even if the implications of it meant Connor had been pacing in and out of the store for over 5 hours just so he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone, the idea of Connor walking a hole into the ground is admittedly kinda funny. Now that he’s all stretched out, he pulls his shoes over with his feet and slips them on, the jacket is still hung over the back of the couch so he pulls it down and tugs it on also. He snags his car keys as he stands with a huff; knees protesting slightly at the motion as he becomes upright.

 

“Well I’m ready now. If you want to start making your way towards the Chicken Feed i’ll drive down and then...wait for you I guess, unless- heh- unless you sprint your way down there to try and beat me? I’ve seen you run I know you’re fuckin’ fast.”

 

“I think I’ll just walk. It’s dangerous to run in the snow, y’know.”

 

Hank takes his phone with him towards the door and pulls a spare jacket off of the wall to give Connor later. Opening the door floods light into the room, making him squint at the glare that assaults his eyes before stepping out the second time that day. Sumo doesn’t usually like it when he leaves him in the house alone for too long but Hank knows he’ll be ok for just a little bit longer. He closes the door behind himself with one last look towards the dog before trudging over to the car; surprised to find its not too chilly and there’s a pleasant breeze in the air. He’d still feel better giving Connor something warmer to wear even if the weather was behaving. The car is dusted with snow from the previous day’s wind but the sun seems to have melted most of it luckily saving him the time to clean it all off.

 

“Yeah that’s true, almost fell on my face earlier today…be careful not to trip out there Connor.”

 

“Thank you, I’ll try my hardest not to, Hank. See you at the Chicken Feed…”

 

“Yeah, see you later.”

 

With that they end the call and Hank slips his phone into a jacket pocket, unlocks the car and drops in to go through the motions of starting it up; this time turning on the fan to let warm air flow through the front interior since the seating and wheel had become quite chilly overnight. He throws the extra jacket on the passenger seat and wouldn’t want to admit he’s rushing just a little bit...but he definitely is; fumbling with the keys in the exhaust before slotting them in and starting it up, setting the gear and reversing into the road with an excited jitter. _ I’m just happy to get out of the house _ he tells himself, which is obviously not true when in actuality he’s excited to see his  _ son _ again. Watching him on the news and talking to him over the phone was one thing but Hank needed to see Connor face to face to really, truly, know he was ok.

 

Not long later and he’s there; the fastest route to Chicken Feed having been ingrained in his memory running his hands on autopilot as he’d cruised through the streets without any trouble. Yet again there’s nobody around, the city having become a ghost town and it’s eerily quiet without the usual hustle and bustle of everyday lives.

 

Hank parks off to the left of the trailer but is out in the open enough so that Connor would be able to see him when he arrives. He lets out a breath and looks up through the windshield at the overpass bridge and at the sun peaking out from above. It’s....pleasant enough he supposes, the suns never been his best friend in the past so he’s got no reason to care for it right now but...it’s a nice change from the cloudy skies that have been blanketing the city muddy with snow, sleet and rain for the past few weeks. Five minutes pass and the Lieutenant is getting restless; turns on the music and taps his fingers along the steering wheel to the drums. Ten minutes pass and he feels anxious; taps his fingers on the wheel  _ harder _ to try and distract from the flutter in his chest but it doesn’t really help so he gets out of the car and wanders in front of the Chicken Feed to try and walk it off instead.

 

Half an hour has passed and Hank’s tired himself out with walking, he comes to a stop on the pavement letting out a huff.  _ Connor must be half the city away or something _ . With another fidget of his feet he resolves to crossing his arms and he stares out at the warehouses in front of him in thought. Maybe he should have just driven straight to Connor instead, no matter how dangerous it might have been, at least then he wouldn’t be worrying his ass off and Connor wouldn’t have as far to-

 

There’s a crunch of feet hitting snow from behind him.

 

Hank turns surprised at the sound but relaxes as soon as Connor comes into view, stopping a ways away from him. Finally seeing the android in front of him sends a wave of relief through his system and he unfolds his arms, smiling up at him. Connor returns the gesture; the corner of his mouth quirking up and Hank strides over almost automatically, takes hold of Connors shoulder and pulls him in for a hug. Connors head falls to his shoulder and he feels him wrap his arms around his back tentatively, as if unsure he should; but with a reassuring squeeze from Hank he holds on tighter.

 

Connors Cyberlife jacket is cold in Hanks grip, there’s some sleet on his shoulders and he’d noticed previously that the kids tie is gone, but none of that really matters in this exact moment because Connors safe, he’s not injured and he’s in Hanks arms and he’s safe, as long as Hank has anything to say about it nothing was going to get hurt him anymore, not Cyberlife nor any human on this earth…

 

Pulling away Hank continues to smile…

 

And then he punches Connor square in the shoulder.

 

The androids eyes widen at the gesture; surprised and confused at the sudden violence but as Hank begins to laugh; as the noise breaks from his mouth and has him doubled over in relief; Connor understands and starts to chuckle too.

 

“Don’t you EVER do any of this shit again, you hear me? I’ve almost had a heart attack the amount of times i’ve been worrying over your sorry ass! Next time there’s a revolution you call me as  _ soon _ as you’re safe- actually no, just don’t pull any of that crap in the first place, alright?!” Hank points a finger in his face and clasps his shoulder with the other hand; shaking him slightly to try and get the point across.

 

Connor just smirks and Hank groans.

 

“No promises, dad.”


End file.
